Report: Chris Cuomo advised brother Andrew Cuomo to resign as New York governor

The New York Times

The New York Times' Michael M. Grynbaum reports, based on two sources, that "Chris Cuomo has regularly spoken with Governor Cuomo by telephone over the past week and advised his brother to resign...The anchor concluded last week that his brother could not survive the political maelstrom, as the governor’s longtime allies abandoned him and support in the Democratic establishment dwindled." As Grynbaum notes, CNN barred Chris Cuomo from participating in strategy sessions with his brother, but he's allowed to speak directly to him. "That distinction is unlikely to placate critics who say CNN erred in allowing Chris Cuomo to keep broadcasting his 9 p.m. news and commentary program while his brother became the focus of a harassment scandal," says Grynbaum. "It was a difficult situation for the network and its president, Jeff Zucker, who had criticized Fox News when its prime-time hosts were enmeshed in former President Donald J. Trump’s administration and campaign. Cuomo Prime Time also helped burnish Andrew Cuomo’s national reputation last year. The governor repeatedly appeared on the program to discuss his response to the nascent pandemic, and his intimate, lengthy on-air conversations with Chris Cuomo, who had fallen ill with the coronavirus, riveted viewers."

ALSO:

• Fox News reporter confronts Chris Cuomo on vacation after his brother's resignation: “Have you spoken to your brother today, sir?” the Fox News employee asked. Cuomo responded, "yes." The Fox News reporter added: "Did you advise him to step down? Are you continuing to advise him? Do you think that’s an ethical conflict?” To which Cuomo said: "I think you got a job to do, and I’m lettin’ you do it." At one point the reporter also asks, “Do you believe the women, sir?," which  Cuomo didn't answer.
• CNN may still have reason to worry over Chris Cuomo's testimony in the New York Attorney General investigation: "A CNN source says that if any shoe is left to drop, it would likely stem from Chris Cuomo’s testimony to the New York AG. James’ office has said that redacted transcripts from all testimony will be released over time, and if the CNN host’s testimony contained anything that painted himself, or CNN, in a particularly negative light, it could be a cause for alarm," reports The Hollywood Reporter's Alex Weprin. "For example, if the testimony showed the CNN host thought the women accusing his brother of harassment were lying, would he be able to fairly cover harassment claims leveled against public figures in the future?"
• Chris Cuomo went from #MeToo champion to helping his brother fend off sexual harassment accusations:  "To judge from Chris Cuomo’s on-air pronouncements about sexual harassment, however, he’d never, ever, allow himself to participate in anti-#MeToo activities," says The Washington Post's Erik Wemple. In November 2017, for instance, he riffed about seizing on the #MeToo moment: “I just feel like we have an opportunity here. Women are coming forward. We know why they don’t come forward. It’s not because, you know, they’re waiting for the right time,” said Cuomo. “Like they’re trying to play to advantage. They’re afraid. You know, there are ramifications that come. There’s payback that comes. There’s scrutiny that comes. So we have this opportunity where you have this bravery on display.” Wemple adds: "If there’s any broader lesson stemming from this episode, it relates to the cheapness of cable-news talk. Chris Cuomo, after all, sounded sincere and convincing in his appeals about the #MeToo cultural awakening — an evolved, modern man standing up for beleaguered women. Then this awakening came for his brother.
• Bill O'Reilly roasted for tweeting about "loudest woke voices" following Andrew Cuomo's resignation
• Alec Baldwin ripped for calling Andrew Cuomo's resignation "a tragic day" and blaming it on "cancel culture": “Regardless of what you think of Cuomo, this is a tragic day," Baldwin said in a tweet he later screen-shotted for Instagram. "Party politics in this country draw ambitious but ultimately isolated, even socially maladjusted men and women who, given the current cancel culture, will likely have their shortcomings exposed and magnified." (Baldwin later posted a lengthy statement explaining his tweet had been taken out of context.)